DOG TRAINING

You have been socializing your dog, teaching him your house rules and his name and have completed veterinary requirements.  Now you should gradually introduce some basic obedience training to his daily routine.  There are several different methods of training and each trainer will have and probably advocate their own favorites.  However, some rudimentary tenets remain:

Each breed of dog has different traits, temperaments, behaviors and abilities.  Some breeds are hypersensitive, some obstinate, some quiet, others hyperactive.  Teach yourself about your dog’s breed.  A specific book or club membership will help.  Different dogs respond to different types of training. Experiment if necessary.

Train before a meal.  We all want to sleep after eating.

If your puppy enjoys his training he will learn quickly.  Make each session fun.

Keep it short.  Ten minutes a session is plenty at this stage.

Never try to teach your dog by hitting him.  Ignore rude behavior and reward good behavior.  In return you will be rewarded with love, loyalty and more good behavior.

Some formality helps.  Train with your dog ‘on-lead’ until he is obedient.  You need it to reinforce commands.

Use each command once. If you say, “Sit” 6 times you are teaching him that he needs to hear “Sit” 6 times before sitting.

Be consistent.  If you allow your dog to jump up at you then he must be allowed to jump up at your family, friends and strangers.  If “DOWN” means lie down then don’t say “DOWN” when you want your dog to jump down from something.  If you don’t allow her on beds then that is the rule.

Make sure your family understand your rules and chosen training method.

Use her name with each command especially if you have more than one dog.  Choose a command word and hand signal for every required response.

The ‘basic commands’ are to do with survival and relationships.  Teach your dog to HEEL, SIT, COME, LIE DOWN and STAY or WAIT.  The language is unimportant but keep the commands short and consistent.  She is learning the tone and meaning.  The word used is really irrelevant.

by Paul Eastoe